Wednesday

I'm vending for the first time ever! This Saturday, December 17 at Porta Jersey City , 11AM-4PM at their holiday pop-up market. I'm both excited and terrified. Does anyone have any booth or fair tips to share?

In preparation for the pop-up, I finally got a taxID number, which granted me access to the most fabulous supply warehouse in NYC. I'm going to dedicate a whole post to the place, because it's just that fantastic. So far, I've bought 19lbs of supplies. Nine, freaking, teen.

Many, many hours are being spent making new earrings! I work full-time, so I've been dedicating my evenings under a lamp. Tutorials to come!

I don't get too personal on this blog. It's usually all earrings, all the time. My tutorial posts rarely have introductions. I'm quite terrible at this.

But I wanted to propose something, to gauge a bit of interest.

I've recently returned to America from spending three months traveling in Korea. I left for a perfect storm of reasons--and while I was there, I discovered a community of amazing women that I am hungry to discover again.

None of my friends craft. I would love to find/create/carve a space for crafty ladies to meet up & shop for beads and bounce ideas and foster creativity and gush over instagram craft crushes.

If you're in the NYC area, and are interested, let me know. You can email me at hellowhimsyblog@gmail.com

Monday

I'm using plastic beads because the holes are large enough to string paracord through. Instead of claw end clasps, you can also use round caps.

The charms are also just an extra touch for the ends and are totally optional!

Tool wise, you will need pliers and scissors.

First, trim your paracord. I snipped a piece just slightly larger than my wrist. The end clasps + chain length will also add length, so keep that in mind. I kept the piece a little longer because we will continuously have to trim it.

Add one of your end caps/claw ends. I pressed the claw onto the paracord. If you're using claw end clasps like me, you can slightly singe the cord ends for a tighter seal.

Start adding your beads!

This is what I mean by you will have to continuously trim. There will be fraying due to the beads, especially smaller ones and you will be left with fluff balls.

When you're done adding your beads, clamp on your other end.

Almost done!

Add a jumpring, then your clasps. I'm using a claw. If you want, add a charm to the chain.

Thursday

So I consider myself a pretty serious crafter, but I have never used mod podge before. I actually bought it for the sole purpose of applying gold leaf onto beads. I feel like I hit a rite of passage. I have no idea what else to do with it. Any suggestions?

For the beads, I dipped a tiny paintbrush into the podge then applied it to the skull bead.

Then, I look some gold leaf flakes and pressed them down. I also used a tweezer for more strategic placing.

To seal the leaf, I applied another layer of the podge.

And that's it! Keep a look out in my coming posts for some gold leaf-ed beads.

Friday

Beads: I used a variety, they can be stones, rondelles, anything you want!

Charms: These are optional. If you don't have charms, you can use tiny seed beads to accentuate.

Wire

Your wire can be as thick or thin as you want it. I bought this wire at Flying Tiger for like 2 bucks. I have no idea what mm it is, but it's thicker than the wire I usually use for earrings.

I don't have a ring mandrel. If you have one, you can skip these beginning steps.

To start, cut off a bit of wire, enough to fit around your finger with about an 1 1/2 inches of excess on either side. Cross the ends to form a 'o' shape.

At the cross, take your pliers & bend on of the ends to 90 degrees. This makes measuring your finger width easier.

Slip the wire around your finger. Wrap the other tail end around the bent angle.

This is roughly the shape you will end up with. The 90 degree bent piece will be where you string your bead.

I'm using this pink rondelle.

We're going to make a loop. Snip off the excess amount.

I made my loop, then added a star charm before finishing.

Now to deal with the other tail end of wire. Grip your ring base with your pliers, then using your fingers, take the tail and wrap it around the base of your bead as many times are you want. Snip off the rest.

Then you're all finished!

In lieu of charms, you can use a tiny seed bead for a similar effect. The smaller bead will dangle around.